Stanley Kubrick

I was incredibly disappointed in Eyes Wide Shut (despite having already read poor reviews).  I think that 2001 is his ubermasterpiece (and I love it), but I have to go with Clockwork Orange.

All of his movies are brilliant (even the flawed EWS). I'm picking Dr. Strangelove, my favorite film of all time. It's the only comedy that gets funnier with each viewing no matter how many times you watch it.

2001 is one of the best movies ever, but I really have to be in a special kind of mood to watch it.

With the exception of A Clockwork Orange and Full Metal Jacket,I am not a fan of the man's work.

Maybe because I was a child when I first saw 2001, it appealed greatly to my sense of wonder.  I don't, nor have I ever found it tedious, but it seems it taxes many people's attention spans.  It captures the loneliness of space so well too, I find.  That scene with Poole shadowboxing as he jogs around the centrifuge past the sarcophagi has always given me shivers.  Many people love Star Wars, and that bores me (I did like it as a kid).  2001 and the original Solaris make a great double-bill.

As for Clockwork Orange, I find the violence a little too disturbing, I mean violence should be sickening and disturbing, but I feel that it's insensitively handled (Burgess, author of the book. didn't like that either as his wife was a victim of violence).  Still a great black comedy with important notions.

I far prefer Kubriuck's version of The Shining to King's novel (of course King has been very vocal about his dislike for the film -- have you seen King's telemovie version?).  And much has been written about how Kubrick terrorised and generalloy mistreated Shelly Duval to get a good performance (and maybe because he was a bit of a misogynist). 

I love Kubrick's films, Dr. Strangelove is terrific (another good adaptation), but he consistently went over budget and was a perfectionist when it came to details (unnecessarily so).  Very big ego, and reclusive, and was quite happy to take credit for other people's work too, from what I've read.

The last film of his particularly highlights his excesses.  But it's been well documented when it came to his other work too like The Shining (incidentally, my mother was an extra in Spartacus).

I do label him a great director.


Edited by Logan - November 30 2007 at 18:08

kubrick was / is IMHO the greatest cinema director of  all time 
lucas & spielberg are just footnotes compared to him ...

.

I'm amazed so many people on this music site don't like 2001. This film is a monumental leap forward for music in film. It is the one film I've seen where music is the narrative of the story. Everything from the bombastic Also Sprach Zarathustra to the eerie choir that anounces the obelisks, the music moves the film more than the sparse dialogue. It's also to this day the most scientifically accurate sci-fi film ever made, and it came out before we had even reached the moon. The only inaccurate thing was the color of Earth, and that's because color photos had yet to be taken of our planet. Artificial gravity, AI, evolution, it all made it's first appearance here. Where most sci-fi films are space operas, this one posed philosophical questions like "why are we here?" It also gives you the option of drawing your own meanings. There is no way this film would be made nowadays.

The Shining. Very little happens for most of the film, yet still I was enthralled.

I've been referring to 2001 as 2001 an Odd Spacecity.
I can't vote seriously as there are too many I haven't seen.

I am a massive Kubrik fan. Visually, I think most would agree upon 2001, but in terms of just being an incredible film, it's got to be Clockwork Orange. BTW, any Lynch fans in?

Edited by cynthiasmallet - December 07 2007 at 11:39